Grace Drayton
Viola Grace Gebbie Wiederseim Drayton (October 14, 1877 – January 31, 1936) was an illustrator of children's books, fashion pages, and magazine covers. She created the Campbell Soup Kids.Gomez, Betsy. "She Changed Comics: Golden Age, Silver Age, & Undergrounds", Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Published 11 Mar 2016. She is considered to be one of the first and most successful American female cartoonists.Gilbert, Anne. "Women Illustrators Rate High With Collectors", Antiques & Collecting Magazine, 107:5, pp.17 (2002). Life & Career Drayton was born Viola Grace Gebbie in 1877 in Philadelphia. Her father, George Gebbie, was an art publisher. Drayton attended Drexel Institute (now Drexel University) and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (PSDW). While at PSDW, she was a student of the American artist and teacher Robert Henri from 1893-94.Wardle, Marian, and Sarah Burns. American women modernists: the legacy of Robert Henri, 1910-1945, Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Association with Rutgers University Press, 2005. (ISBN 0813536839) pp. 135, 192. Drayton began her career as a freelance artist in 1895. In 1900 she married Theodore Wiederseim. From 1905–1909, she was a member of The Plastic Club, an arts organization in Philadelphia."Grace Gebbie Wiederseim Drayton", The Plastic Club Accessed 15 Mar 2016. She created the Campbell Soup Kids which was used in advertisements for Campbell's Soup beginning in 1904. The Campbell Soup Kids and Drayton's other children characters were drawn in a cute cherubic style often with round faces, plump bodies, and rosy cheeks."Ask the Archivist: Grace G. Drayton", Comics Kingdom. Published 13 Mar 2014. With her sister Margaret G. Hays as writer, Drayton produced The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland and The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptin Kiddo in the period 1905–1909."Grace Drayton", Lambiek Comiclopedia. Accessed 16 Jan 2019. Drayton designed the popular Dolly Dingle Paper Dolls which appeared in the women's magazine Pictorial Review. In 1911, she divorced Wiederseim and married William Heyward Drayton and started signing her work as Grace Drayton. She either divorced Drayton or he died in 1923.William Heyward Drayton, Jr. memorial, Find-A-Grave. Created 26 Feb 2013. Accessed 16 Jan 2019. She also created syndicated newspaper comic strips for Hearst/King Features such as Naughty Toodles, Dottie Dimple, Dimples, Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce, and The Pussycat Princess. Drayton was the first woman to be a cartoonist for Hearst. The Pussycat Princess was started in 1935. After Drayton's death, the strip was continued by Ruth Carroll and Ed Anthony. Drayton died in 1936. Legacy The Campbell Soup Kids were an iconic staple of Campbell's Soup advertising strategy for decades. The Campbell Soup Kids drawings and memorabila remain popular with antique collectors. It is possible that Drayton's work had some influence on Japanese shōjo manga in the late 1930s. Drayton's Dolly Dingle dolls are part of the Joseph Downs Collection at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library."The Joseph Downs Collection and the Winterthur Archives". Accessed 11 Mar 2017. Some of her work is also part of the collection at The Cartoon Museum. Her work was featured in the Drawn to Purpose exhibit at the Library of Congress (2017-2018). Comic Strips ;as Grace G. Wiederseim: * Toodles / Naughty Toodles / The Strange Adventures of Pussy Pumpkin And Her Chum Toodles! (Hearst, March 22, 1903–January 10, 1904)The Archivist. "Ask the Archivist: TOODLES and PUSSY PUMPKIN," Comics Kingdom (April 3, 2013). * The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland (The Philadelphia Press, 1905–1906) — written by Margaret G. HaysJohn William Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis, editors. Who's Who in America, Volume 6 (Marquis Who's Who, 1910), p. 2078. * The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptain Kiddo (Philadelphia North American Company, 1909) — written by Margaret G. HaysRobbins, Trina. Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896–2010 (Fantagraphics Books, 2013), pp. 18-21. * Dottie Dimple (Hearst, 1908–1911) ;as Grace Drayton: * Dimples (Hearst, January 1914–1918) * Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce (King Features, 1928–Spring 1933) — with topper strip Kittens * The Pussycat Princess (King Features, 1935–1947) — written by Ed Anthony External Links *McGrath, W.E. (2006). Grace Drayton, a Children's Illustrator Who also Painted Young Women -- A Biographical Sketch * "Grace Gebbie Drayton (Wiederseim)," with many images, at D.B. Dowd Studio Notes * Drayton profile, with many images, at Vintage Valentine Museum * Grace Drayton UFDC Museum Exhibit * WorldCat search Grace Drayton; Wiederseim (evidently not redundant as of September 2016, when her works seem to be the only hits for 'Wiederseim') Sources Category:American creators Category:Cartoonists Category:Artists Category:Platinum Age Category:Newspaper Comics Category:1877 Births Category:1936 Deaths